In no particular order, here are the highest earning athletes of all time!
12 – Mike Tyson I’m sure people have heard that Iron Mike
has had money trouble before.
And to have money trouble as a money making machine like him, is almost quite impressive.
Mike Tyson has been bankrupt before and owed millions, but as of 2017, Mike Tyson has an
estimated net worth of roughly $3 million.
During his career, Iron Mike managed to earn $400 mill, not adjusted to inflation, which
makes it seem incredible to actually go bankrupt.
Just to refresh some memories here, Tyson holds the record as the youngest boxer to
win a heavyweight title at 20 years old, and he was ranked as No. 1 in the ESPN’s list
of "The Hardest Hitters in Heavyweight History".
When Tyson declared bankruptcy in 2003, it was reported that he had approximately $23
million of debt.
Definitely amazing to see Iron Mike make it all the way back from deep in the red, even
if he was extremely deep in the green at one time!
11 – Greg Norman Greg Norman was an Australian professional
golfer turned entrepreneur.
During his career, he managed to earn a whopping $680 million.
In a reference to his blond hair, size, and aggressive golf style, Norman's nickname is
"The Great White Shark".
Greg Norman has 88 pro victories and was inducted into the Golf Hall of Fame in 2001.
During the 1980s and 1990s, Norman spent 331 weeks as the world's Number 1 golfer.
Today, he maintains all of his thriving business interests under his company Great White Shark
Enterprises.
His enterprise is a global corporation with a portfolio of companies within such industries
as apparel, interior design, real estate, private equity, and of course, golf course
design.
10 – Tiger Woods Tiger Woods is among the greatest golfers
of all time, just in case you guys didn’t know.
He’s been one of the highest-paid athletes in the world for several years, and he’s
earned $1.65 billion dollars so far!
However, ever since his well publicized cheating scandal back in 2009, Woods hasn’t been
quite the same.
Let’s go down memory lane just for a little bit; Tiger was only 20 years old when he turned
professional in 1996.
In 97, Tiger won the masters by 12 strokes in record-breaking performance and pocketed
486 thousand for his win.
He became the number 1 golfer in the world in June 1997, less than a year after turning
pro!
Tiger also holds the record for World Number One for the most consecutive weeks and for
the greatest total number of weeks of any golfer.
He’s been awarded PGA Player of the Year a record eleven times, and lead the money
list for Golf in ten different seasons.
Who knows what more he could have accomplished if he could have just kept his private life
together! (here please just adjust the loudness)
9 – Arnold Palmer Wake Forest Alumni Arnold Palmer was a pro
golfer who’s generally regarded as one of the greatest and most charismatic players
in golf history.
Nicknamed “The King”, he was one of golf's most popular stars.
However, did you guys know that Arnold earned more than $1.3 billion, after adjusting for
inflation, from endorsements and entrepreneurial ventures?!
Among his many wins and championships are 62 PGA Tour wins, with 7 of those being major
championships.
Palmer was part of "The Big Three" in golf, the other two being Jack Nicklaus and Gary
Player.
They were the three key players who are widely credited with popularizing the sport around
the world.
I’m sure you guys have heard of the Arnold Palmer drink, which is iced tea and lemonade,
and yes, it was named after Arnold Palmer because he loved to drink iced tea and lemonade
together.
The alcoholic version is mixed with vodka, and is apparently called the John Daly.
Hmmmmm!
8 – Jack Nicklaus Jack Nicklaus, nicknamed The Golden Bear,
is another golf great who’s earned a ton of money in his life.
His career earnings total a whopping $1.15 billion!
Who really knew he made all that money?!
After winning the U.S. Amateur title in 1959 and 1961, Nicklaus turned professional at
age 21.
He’s widely regarded as the greatest golfer of all time, winning a record 18 career major
championships, while producing 19 second-place and 9 third-place finishes over a span of
25 years.
In addition to that, Nicklaus has remained a driving force off the course.
He’s actively involved himself in golf course design, charity work and book writing.
His golf course design company is one of the largest in the world – it’s created more
than 400 courses in 41 countries and 39 states.
Nicklaus himself designed 298 of those courses.
7 – Michael Schumacher Michael Schumacher is a retired German racing
driver who raced in Formula One for Benetton and Ferrari.
Throughout his career, Schumacher earned a nice even $1 billion dollars.
Schumacher holds the records for the most World Championship titles with 7, the most
Grand Prix wins with 91, and the most races won in a single season with 13!
He won five of those F1 World Championships consecutively.
According to the official Formula One website, Schumacher is "statistically the greatest
driver the sport has ever seen".
Okay, I can see how he earned a billion dollars, easily.
Unfortunately, in December 2013, Schumacher suffered a traumatic brain injury while skiing.
The head injury was so severe, he’s now paralysed and in a wheelchair, although his
condition is still slowly improving.
6 – Kobe Bryant How many of you guys yell, “Kobe!” after
you make a big bucket in a pickup game?!
Definitely would make sense, as Kobe Bryant has been one of the biggest superstars of
the NBA for the past 20 years, ever since he came in the league!
It really shouldn’t come as a surprise for anyone to hear that he’s managed to earn
$770 million during his career.
Kobe played his entire 20-year career with the Lakers.
He entered the NBA directly from high school and won five NBA championships with the Lakers.
How many of you guys remember that Kobe was actually drafted by the Hornets, and he was
traded for Vlade Divac back in 96 with the Hornets?
Kobe is an 18-time All-Star, 15-time member of the All-NBA Team, and 12-time member of
the All-Defensive team.
At 34 years and 104 days of age, Kobe became the youngest player in league history to reach
30,000 career points.
5 – Phil Mickelson Phil Mickelson, nicknamed Lefty, is a golfer
who was once known as the best golfer to never win a major.
He won his first major back in 2004, where he finally was able to get rid of his reputation
after 13 years.
Mickelson’s managed to earn $760 million throughout his career.
Mickelson is known for his left-handed swing, even though he’s actually right-handed in
everything else.
He’s won 42 events on the PGA Tour, including five major championships.
His major championships are 3 Master’s titles, a PGA Championship and an Open Championship.
Mickelson is one of 16 golfers in the history of the sport to win at least three of the
four majors.
He’s won every major except the U.S. Open, where he’s finished runner-up a record six
times.
4 – David Beckham Former soccer superstar David Beckham managed
to earn $730 million during his 20-year career.
Just like many other athletes on this list, Beckham consistently ranked among the highest
earners in his sport, but his biggest earnings came in retirement – he banked $75 million
in 2014 alone thanks largely to his business deals.
Known for his range of passing, crossing ability and bending free-kicks as a right winger,
Beckham made his professional soccer debut at the age of 17 and played for Manchester
United for nine seasons.
During his time there, the team won the Premier League title six times, the FA Cup twice,
and the UEFA Champions League once.
Beckham is the first English player to win league titles in four countries: England,
Spain, the US, and France.
3 – Shaquille O’Neal Wait what, Shaq is on this list?!
Shaq has earned about $700 million during his career.
Surprisingly, only Kevin Garnett and Kobe Bryant are the only ones who’s earned more
on the court than Shaq during his 19-year career.
After graduating from LSU, Shaq was drafted by the Orlando Magic with the first overall
pick in the 1992 NBA draft.
He quickly became one of the best centers in the league, winning Rookie of the Year
in 1992–93 and leading his team to the 1995 NBA Finals.
Among many other awards he’s earned, he’s one of only three players to win the NBA MVP,
All-Star game MVP and Finals MVP awards in the same year, which he did in 2000.
The other players are Willis Reed in 1970 and MJ TWICE, in 96 and 98.
Definitely not shaqtin’ a fool, earning 700 mill in his career!
2 – Floyd Mayweather Are you guys surprised that Floyd “Money”
Mayweather is on this list?
Money May has managed to accumulate about $765 million throughout his career, but in
case you’ve been time traveling this past summer and didn’t know this, his fight with
McGregor fight got him another $300 million, making his total career earnings around $1.1
billion dollars!
In 2007, he founded his own boxing promotional firm, Mayweather Promotions, after paying
750 thousand to defect from Bob Arum's Top Rank, in arguably what’s his best career
move, which is betting on himself.
Mayweather’s held 15 world titles in five weight classes and he retired with an undefeated
record of 50–0, surpassing Rocky Marciano's mythical record of 49–0, although a few
other boxers have as well.
But hey, we’re not gonna hate on great marketing are we?
Mayweather is one of the most lucrative pay-per-view attractions of all time, in any sport.
He’s generated approximately 19.5 million in Pay per view buys, which is pretty insane
once you crunch the numbers.
Mayweather’s fight with Pacquiao in 2015 generated $600 million in revenue and earned
him $240 million.
He was first on Forbes’ list of the 50 highest-paid athletes four times, in 2012, 2013, 2014,
and 2015.
1 – Michael Jordan Do I really need to say it?
Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all-time.
Pretty much no if’s, ands, or buts about this one.
His career earnings total at around $1.7 billion.
It may seem unbelievable but his salary rarely matched his status in the league.
He was the NBA's highest-paid player only twice during his 15-year career.
His total career playing salary was roughly $93 million, but obviously, Jordan has earned
another the rest from corporate partners and sponsors.
His biggest partner has always been Nike, which generates nearly $3 billion in annual
revenue from Jordan Brand.
In 2015, Jordan became the first billionaire NBA alum in history as a result of the increase
in value of NBA franchises.
Just to prove that he’s been worth every penny he’s made, he was named the greatest
North American athlete of the 20th century by ESPN.
Greatest athlete ever pretty much!
Here’s what’s next!